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अभ्यासक्रम

Food Chain

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Topics

  • Definition: Food Chain
  • Concept of Food Chain
  • Advantages of Food Chain
CBSE: Class 10

Definition: Food Chain

A series of organisms where one is eaten by the next and energy flows from producers to consumers is called a food chain.

Maharashtra State Board: Class 9

Concept of Food Chain:

A food chain is like a line or a chain that connects different living things based on what they eat. It starts with a producer and ends with a top predator. Each step in the food chain is called a trophic level.

Trophic level is categorised into:

  1. First Trophic Level: Producers (Autotrophs): Producers, such as plants and algae, utilise sunlight for photosynthesis to produce food and they are the foundation of all food chains and webs because they create the energy that all other organisms depend on.
  2. Second Trophic Level: Primary Consumers (Herbivores): They are directly dependent on autotrophs (producers). For example: Grasshopper, squirrel, elephant, rabbit, deer, etc.
  3. Third Trophic Level: Secondary Consumers (Carnivores): These consumers use herbivores as their food. For example: Frog, owl, snake, fox, etc.
  4. Fourth Trophic Level: Tertiary Consumers (Apex Carnivores): These consumers use herbivores and carnivores as their food. For example: Tiger, eagle, shark, lion, etc.
  5. Omnivores (mixed consumers): They feed on herbivores, carnivores and producers. For example:  Humans, bears, etc.
  6. Decomposers: Decomposers, like fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms and waste products from all trophic levels.

Food Chain

Maharashtra State Board: Class 9

Advantages of Food Chain:

  1. Energy moves through the ecosystem as producers convert sunlight into food, which is then consumed by herbivores and predators.
  2. Producers, herbivores, and predators depend on each other to maintain a balanced ecosystem.
  3. Predator-prey relationships help control population sizes, preventing any one species from overpopulating.
  4. Nutrients cycle through the ecosystem as plants absorb them, animals consume plants, and decomposers return nutrients to the soil.
  5. Energy flow ensures that every trophic level supports the next, from plants to apex predators.
  6. Population dynamics ensure resources are not overused, maintaining ecosystem stability.
  7. Decomposers play a vital role in recycling nutrients from dead organisms back into the environment.
  8. The interdependence of species ensures the continuous transfer of energy and nutrients throughout the ecosystem.
CISCE: Class 12

Key Points: Food Chain

  • A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms in which food energy is transferred from producers to consumers.
  • Every food chain begins with producers (green plants) and usually ends with top consumers that are not preyed upon.
  • Energy decreases at each trophic level, so food chains are usually short (not more than five levels).
  • Shorter food chains are more stable and efficient, as less energy is lost at each step.

Shaalaa.com | Our Environment part 5 (Food chain)

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Our Environment part 5 (Food chain) [00:07:59]
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Our Environment part 5 (Food chain)
00:07:59  undefined
Our Environment part 6 (Flow of energy in food chain)
00:10:09  undefined
Our Environment part 7 (Biological Magnification)
00:08:54  undefined
Our Environment part 8 (Food web)
00:05:45  undefined

Related QuestionsVIEW ALL [197]

Green plants utilize ______ percent of sun’s energy to prepare their food by the process of photosynthesis.

In the following food chain, 20,000 J of energy was available to the plants. How much energy would be available to man in this chain?    
Plants → Sheep → Man

In the following food chain, vertical arrows indicate the energy lost to the environment and horizontal arrows indicate energy transferred to the next trophic level. Which one of the three vertical arrows (A, C and E) and which one of the two horizontal arrows (B and D) will represent more energy transfer? Give reason for your answer.

A food chain in a forest ecosystem

Name two predators of snakes in a food web operating in a forest ecosystem.

The following statement is true or false :
Only 10 per cent of the light energy given by the sun is available for transfer at each higher trophic level in a food chain.

In a food chain, the third trophic level is always occupied by

Which group of organisms are not constituents of a food chain?

  1. Grass, lion, rabbit, wolf
  2. Plankton, man, fish, grasshopper
  3. Wolf, grass, snake, tiger
  4. Frog, snake, eagle, grass, grasshopper

Fill in the following blank with suitable word :

In nature, all green plants are............ whereas animals are consumers.

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